Waste Prevention Grant Opportunities
StopWaste offers grant opportunities to nonprofits, businesses, and institutions with projects aimed at increasing individual, business, and community involvement in the prevention of waste in Alameda County.
Funding priorities are related to projects that focus on waste prevention, reuse, and recovery of food, goods and materials as well as development, marketing, and use of recovered products. Proposed projects must be located in and/or service the residents and/or businesses of Alameda County.
Grant Application Timeline
The 2023 grant application window is now closed.
Submissions were due on March 3, 2023
Grantees Announced: May 19, 2023
Para obtener ayuda en español sobre los subsidios, envíe un correo electrónico a swgrants@stopwaste.org.
有關中文補助的訊息，請發送電子郵件至 swgrants@stopwaste.org.
Please review the description for each of the six grant categories listed below to better understand all the funding opportunities before beginning the application process.
Food Waste Prevention & Recovery Grants
Available to nonprofits, businesses, institutions, and school districts, these grants fund innovative pilots and projects that prevent edible food from going to compost or landfill by recovering and redistributing it to feed people, or by preventing the production of surplus edible food through product or process redesign. The goal is to reduce the amount of surplus edible food generated and/or to donate surplus food. Up to $20,000 per grant.
Reuse and Repair Grants
Available to nonprofits and businesses, these grants fund innovative projects that prevent waste through reuse, repair, deconstruction, redistribution, product or process redesign, recovery, and other ways that keep goods and other materials out of disposal or recycling. The goal is to conserve natural resources and stimulate economic activity in the reuse and recovery sectors. Up to $20,000 per grant.
Surplus Food Donation Equipment Grants
The Surplus Food Donation Equipment Grants, provides funding to support the recovery or donation of surplus edible food that would otherwise go to waste, thereby increasing capacity for businesses to donate food and/or organizations to receive more food, safely transport and distribute food for donation. Up to $10,000 per grant.
Reusable Transport Packaging Grants
Available to nonprofits, businesses, institutions, and school districts, these grants fund reusable, durable alternatives to replace limited-life packaging used in manufacturing, transportation and/or distribution, such as boxes, pallets, pallet wraps, and dunnage. Funds help cover the upfront reusable equipment costs. Once reusables are in place, organizations often see long-term cost savings by eliminating (or significantly reducing) recurring costs for packaging materials. Up to $10,000 per grant.
Community Food Systems Grants
Available to nonprofits and businesses, these grants fund community-rooted and driven projects that address gaps and shortfalls of the industrial food system through the implementation of innovative multi-benefit practices that provide long term strategies to improve food access, address equity, economic opportunities, and community health. The goal is to support efforts that prevent the wasting of healthy, culturally appropriate, and locally grown food and ensure it is being equitably distributed to communities in need. Up to $10,000 per grant.
Reusable Foodware Infrastructure Grants
Available to businesses, nonprofits, institutions, and school districts these grants fund innovative projects that explore the feasibility of replacing single-use, disposable foodware with reusable systems. The goal is to eliminate single-use foodware and instead develop local infrastructure to make reusable foodware accessible to businesses and consumers. Award range: $5,000 to $50,000 per grant.
Reusable Foodware Mini-Grants
No Deadline - Apply Anytime! Individual food service operators, such as restaurants, churches, cafeterias etc., looking to switch from disposable to reusable foodware can receive hands-on support and incentives up to $2,500 for reusable foodware and other expenses through StopWaste’s partnership with ReThink Disposable.
Free Indoor Food Scrap Bins
No Deadline - Apply Anytime! Make separating food scraps, food-soiled paper and plant debris easier with up to $500 for indoor green containers and lids. Available to qualifying Alameda County businesses, institutions, and multi-family residential properties (5+ units).
Grantee Highlight
RAFT upcycles donations of surplus materials headed to the landfill into STEAM Project Kits for hands-on, creative science learning and other low-cost teaching supplies, available to educators and guardians throughout the Bay Area. A Reuse Grant from StopWaste enabled RAFT to uplift under-resourced schools in Alameda County with their clever and inspiring STEAM Project Kits as well as other materials and service free of charge.